I was fortunate to have one of the first 50e models here in the UK. I’ve done just over 24k miles and it has been brilliant. It is a fantastic car and my average electric range is over 60 miles (the useable battery capacity is greater in the UK from the US). What is even more impressive is the re-charge capability of the car. I did a journey of around 200 miles recently and my total e-drive mileage was just over 90 miles. So, even when using the engine, it’s constantly recharging the battery when it can. More expensive to buy but I hardly ever fill up with petrol. And it’s a great driving car.
Genuine question here for any users of an x5 plug in. Are the charging times unusually long? For a small battery I assumed an hour or two but am seeing some online say 11 hrs. Is that correct? Also does this charge the battery itself while driving? Again I saw that online but not sure if correct as it’s a plug in hybrid rather than self charging? Thanks al
I rented 2 different 2025 X5 50e, and it was an excellent experience both times. I charged one of them to 100%, and I was able to drive 52 miles in the electric mode in total. But boy, how fun to drive it is in all the modes. I showed it to a couple of friends. First, I drove them around the block in the EV mode, then I proceeded with a launch control, and then drove in in the Sport mode! It's really a two-faced machine, being super comfortable and luxurious all the time!
Matt, you are the first person I have heard mention the mining of cobalt and lithium which has been a factor for me in considering EV. Thanks for pointing that out when it comes to a benefit of a PHEV. Great review and facts.
Thanks for the review. We bought ours on 12/31 but waiting for delivery from a sister dealership. Got $3k off sticker +$2k from bmwfs +$1k from bmwcca which seemed like a huge win. Very excited to get in this one and ditch the 20 year old gmc safari. 😂
11:35 This was the confusing part as here in Ireland the hybrid is the cheapest model. It’s around €20,000 cheaper. And as standard it comes with the M sport equipped you can’t change it. And because of that it just made so much more sense to buy that one
Same. I actually set it to 80% charge max for now and still get 40 miles. My work drive is 19 miles one way. So the 40 miles on 80% battery is real, not just an overestimate. I imagine this range reduces with colder weather ahead in winter, it is still better than expected.
I got mine from the dealer with 48 miles of range fully charged but all the EV literature says not to charge it to 100%, so be careful here or you'll prematurely age your battery. I charge mine to 80% (per the recommendations) and it gets to 36-38 (unsure why the variation, tbh). One interesting thing - as I'm breaking my car in (1200 miles in GAS mode is what you need to do), the EV battery charges up into the higher 40s. I've heard the car can/will charge the battery as you're driving in non-electric mode but surprised that - if charging beyond 80% harms the battery - it charges beyond 80% capacity.
@@donsloan2075 you shouldn’t be concerned about charging it to more than 80% because a hybrid battery reserves a big percentage of inaccessible capacity for adding extra horsepower to the B58 even if the usable capacity is completely depleted. You’re basically shortening your electrical range by not charging your useable capacity to full with no real benefit for the battery.
@@devmaxir with this car you can go 100% because of the buffer. The actual capacity of the battery is 29.4 Kwh, of which BMW unlocks about 19 and that means there's leg room and head room for "full" charge cycles. Downside is that 10 Kwh is never accessible
This looks like an awesome vehicle. I could see it peeling away some people looking at Rivian R1S. If it truly has a 39-mile electric range, that could be enough for many to stay mostly on electric for daily use. It would for me.
It's my first hybrid/EV car and I made a big break-in mistake by driving it in EV mode every day. I occasionally put it into hybrid but never in Sport (gas only; will explain why on that in a minute). Well, the break-in doesn't happen in EV mode - only in gas. So at 1203 miles I thought I was all set and just by accident did I stumble onto that important gas mode requirement. So now I'm driving solely in Sport mode to get the break-in done properly. Why wouldn't I drive it in Sport mode previously? While the engine is the kickass, world-class B58 that powers up thru the M series (617 HP), BMW tuned it down for the hybrid so it only gets 308 HP driving gas-only Sport mode. Even turbo-charged, it's noticeably underwhelming compared to the non-hybrid X5 which flies like a banshee and is tons of fun to drive. Can only imagine the M's performance. There are shops that specialize in tuning the B58 back up and well beyond the M (have heard instances of over 1,000 HP) but BMW will void your warranty for engine issues if you've done that. I believe they detune the B58 for strictly business reasons, ie, why would anyone pay 6-figures for the M series if they could get better than M performance in the hybrid for a chunk of change less? So as a rule-following guy, I'm going to leave my engine alone for 4 years and then tune the hell out of it. The non-hybrid X5 was far more fun to drive (remember, I'm in the break-in period) and I want to have that and hopefully much more in my re-tuned hybrid.
Also, while driving in EV mode I was getting 77.8 MPGe (strange term). I didn't have to modify my driving at all to get it, either. I see so many Teslas driving tortoise slow around here that I wonder about battery drain for them.
Genuine question here for any users of an x5 plug in. Are the charging times unusually long? For a small battery I assumed an hour or two but am seeing some online say 11 hrs. Is that correct? Also does this charge the battery itself while driving? Again I saw that online but not sure if correct as it’s a plug in hybrid rather than self charging? Thanks all
Question about PHEVs: Let’s say your daily commute is 15 miles one way. You manage to do that commute almost entirely on EV every day. At the end of the year, you have circa 8,000 miles on the car, but the engine was in use for only 2,000 of those 8,000 miles. Does the system of the PHEV indicate the difference between miles traveled by EV mode and miles traveled by ICE?
I don’t know specifically if it differentiates between gas and EV but it will keep an actual MPG so if most of your driving is on EV and the gas engine comes on really sparingly then it wouldn’t be unrealistic to see 70-80 REAL mpg. BMWs fuel economy readings only go as high as 99.5 but in theory (and likely execution) you could beat even that
It will show you on the BMW app and you also get a monthly report from BMW on your driving for that month. Never had that happen before. It differentiates between gas miles and electric miles and tells you how much of each you drove, it'll tell you the MPGe you've driving that month (and since you owned the car, btw), and it will ALSO tell you if you've lagged or beaten the average driving stats of other BMW 50e drivers. Pretty cool.
Depends what you value. As enthusiasts, which I would guess most of us are, the X5 is a little too much like an NPC vehicle from the wealthier areas of the GTA map.
I think I have the answer to this from your video, but wanted to double-check: do you think the 50e is even faster than the already fast X40i with the electric aiding it? Car and Driver's numbers seem to indicate so, but wanted to get your opinion.
@@UrLocal_Jude they’re somewhat different videos - the worst and best videos are relative to other vehicles it competes against. The “X things you should know” videos are more JUST about the car in front of me and doesn’t really talk about how it relates to the competition
I have 3 friends who are mechanics. None of them know each other. They have all told me independently BMWs are still to lease and not to own and at 50K miles they slowly become a POS. I drive a 2016 Lexus GX with 135K miles and would love a new SUV that hauls the family, is fun to drive, but also something reliable. My mechanic friend told me last week “that X5 would not be running at 135k miles”. That said, have seen a lot of reviews that say BMW has been making the x5 forever and its super reliable. What gives? Anyone with experience? For what it’s worth, I have test driven an x5 and they do drive fantastic.
@ I could have worded that better. I will have them all over for cheese and crackers soon. Anyway, what about it? Are these guys just haters or do BMW’s turn into POSs around 50K miles? My GX is about as fun to drive as a dump truck but she just goes and gives me no troubles.
The X5 seems to be the most reliable BMW. Is it a Lexus? No. But, maintain it and drive it for 100K miles and sell it. Should do just fine...but, repairs are expensive, that's a fact.
I just traded in my 440i this past week with 88k on it. It was a fantastic car and still drove like new. Did stuff pop up, of course. However, I had no more issues than I had with any previous vehicles I have had including Hondas and Toyotas. The interior held up better than any car I have ever owned, and there were two little ones riding in the back. I pick up my X5 50e this week.
I've owned my first BMW (50e) for 2 months now so take this with a huge grain of salt, but I researched the hell out of BMW before buying and also after (compulsive a bit) and what I think happens is like what this content creator did - he stomped it right out of the gate before it was sufficiently broken in which is AGAINST VERY CLEAR BMW STANDARD RECOMMENDATIONS. Bimmerpost is a forum of BMW fanatics and lifers and is truly awesome. It's like getting a bachelor's in BMW as they cover e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. What I've seen is most of them know what they're doing but there are more than a handful who pffft the break-in period and just hammer the car from the start. Well, I think if you abuse the engine out of the gate you're just setting yourself up for a bad experience down the line. You know what my research tells me? I will NEVER buy a used BMW because I won't take the chance someone didn't beat the hell out of the car prior to selling it. However, I bought a new BMW based on performance, reliability (Consumer Reports rates them 2nd to Toyota, believe it or not), and driving experience. I honestly had my doubts about BMW's reliability like everyone else but I'm driving this like a baby during break-in and I expect it to last well over 100k at which point I'll likely trade it in and find my next vehicle. I expect it to be reliable and be a great purchase when all is said and done. I guess we'll see.
It’s due to the extra weight of the plugin hybrid battery. I have the 2025 50e. It’s a fantastic car. Handling, power, driving automations. I drive it mostly in ev mode with 2-3 long trips per month. Love the towing features. Love driving this car.
@@johnpeters2298 That makes total sense. I hadn’t thought of that. I love that X5. It won’t fit in our current garage so I got a XC60 T8 instead, which we are seeing about 40 miles of electric range…but, it only has a 3,500 pound towing capacity. Time to build a new garage.
@dwnshft yes it's relevant. However if the video is X5 vs GLE, go ahead and compare at every feature If the video is BMW X5, review the car. Then you can say ...compared to it's chief rival, abcdef.....
@ sorry mate that’s just the format for our pro & con video format. We do another format it sounds like you’d like better - “X things you should know” which is more about the car in a vacuum and much less comparison to other cars
Special thanks to our Patreons for their support of the channel! Is there a better all-around SUV than a X5 PHEV??
I was fortunate to have one of the first 50e models here in the UK. I’ve done just over 24k miles and it has been brilliant. It is a fantastic car and my average electric range is over 60 miles (the useable battery capacity is greater in the UK from the US). What is even more impressive is the re-charge capability of the car. I did a journey of around 200 miles recently and my total e-drive mileage was just over 90 miles. So, even when using the engine, it’s constantly recharging the battery when it can. More expensive to buy but I hardly ever fill up with petrol. And it’s a great driving car.
Genuine question here for any users of an x5 plug in. Are the charging times unusually long? For a small battery I assumed an hour or two but am seeing some online say 11 hrs. Is that correct? Also does this charge the battery itself while driving? Again I saw that online but not sure if correct as it’s a plug in hybrid rather than self charging? Thanks al
I rented 2 different 2025 X5 50e, and it was an excellent experience both times. I charged one of them to 100%, and I was able to drive 52 miles in the electric mode in total. But boy, how fun to drive it is in all the modes.
I showed it to a couple of friends. First, I drove them around the block in the EV mode, then I proceeded with a launch control, and then drove in in the Sport mode! It's really a two-faced machine, being super comfortable and luxurious all the time!
Another big plus if you buy a BMW 50e you will have aer suspension it is softer and more comfortable than BMW xDrive 401
Matt, you are the first person I have heard mention the mining of cobalt and lithium which has been a factor for me in considering EV. Thanks for pointing that out when it comes to a benefit of a PHEV. Great review and facts.
😎👊
Nice review. I drove it yesterday and was so impressed. Taking delivery on Monday!
@@patrickjenkins7098 nice, enjoy!
Thanks for the review. We bought ours on 12/31 but waiting for delivery from a sister dealership. Got $3k off sticker +$2k from bmwfs +$1k from bmwcca which seemed like a huge win. Very excited to get in this one and ditch the 20 year old gmc safari. 😂
11:35 This was the confusing part as here in Ireland the hybrid is the cheapest model. It’s around €20,000 cheaper. And as standard it comes with the M sport equipped you can’t change it. And because of that it just made so much more sense to buy that one
I'm getting closer to 45-47 on electric. Some folks in the forums are getting 50. Love mine
@@carwashi niiiiicccceeee
Same. I actually set it to 80% charge max for now and still get 40 miles. My work drive is 19 miles one way. So the 40 miles on 80% battery is real, not just an overestimate. I imagine this range reduces with colder weather ahead in winter, it is still better than expected.
I got mine from the dealer with 48 miles of range fully charged but all the EV literature says not to charge it to 100%, so be careful here or you'll prematurely age your battery. I charge mine to 80% (per the recommendations) and it gets to 36-38 (unsure why the variation, tbh). One interesting thing - as I'm breaking my car in (1200 miles in GAS mode is what you need to do), the EV battery charges up into the higher 40s. I've heard the car can/will charge the battery as you're driving in non-electric mode but surprised that - if charging beyond 80% harms the battery - it charges beyond 80% capacity.
@@donsloan2075 you shouldn’t be concerned about charging it to more than 80% because a hybrid battery reserves a big percentage of inaccessible capacity for adding extra horsepower to the B58 even if the usable capacity is completely depleted. You’re basically shortening your electrical range by not charging your useable capacity to full with no real benefit for the battery.
@@devmaxir with this car you can go 100% because of the buffer. The actual capacity of the battery is 29.4 Kwh, of which BMW unlocks about 19 and that means there's leg room and head room for "full" charge cycles. Downside is that 10 Kwh is never accessible
This looks like an awesome vehicle. I could see it peeling away some people looking at Rivian R1S. If it truly has a 39-mile electric range, that could be enough for many to stay mostly on electric for daily use. It would for me.
@@TapInBirdie totally!
It's my first hybrid/EV car and I made a big break-in mistake by driving it in EV mode every day. I occasionally put it into hybrid but never in Sport (gas only; will explain why on that in a minute). Well, the break-in doesn't happen in EV mode - only in gas. So at 1203 miles I thought I was all set and just by accident did I stumble onto that important gas mode requirement. So now I'm driving solely in Sport mode to get the break-in done properly. Why wouldn't I drive it in Sport mode previously? While the engine is the kickass, world-class B58 that powers up thru the M series (617 HP), BMW tuned it down for the hybrid so it only gets 308 HP driving gas-only Sport mode. Even turbo-charged, it's noticeably underwhelming compared to the non-hybrid X5 which flies like a banshee and is tons of fun to drive. Can only imagine the M's performance. There are shops that specialize in tuning the B58 back up and well beyond the M (have heard instances of over 1,000 HP) but BMW will void your warranty for engine issues if you've done that. I believe they detune the B58 for strictly business reasons, ie, why would anyone pay 6-figures for the M series if they could get better than M performance in the hybrid for a chunk of change less? So as a rule-following guy, I'm going to leave my engine alone for 4 years and then tune the hell out of it. The non-hybrid X5 was far more fun to drive (remember, I'm in the break-in period) and I want to have that and hopefully much more in my re-tuned hybrid.
Also, while driving in EV mode I was getting 77.8 MPGe (strange term). I didn't have to modify my driving at all to get it, either. I see so many Teslas driving tortoise slow around here that I wonder about battery drain for them.
Great review
@@ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow thanks 👊
Genuine question here for any users of an x5 plug in. Are the charging times unusually long? For a small battery I assumed an hour or two but am seeing some online say 11 hrs. Is that correct? Also does this charge the battery itself while driving? Again I saw that online but not sure if correct as it’s a plug in hybrid rather than self charging? Thanks all
I can’t agree to the range with the electricity motor, we have a 50e and we have an only electric range off 60 miles
You delivered!! And released on Halloween day, of all days! Hahahaha. Thanks heaps, Matt!!! 🤩
@@artdelac any time 😁
@@dwnshft Hopefully I get to meet you at the NYC Motor show or at some other opportunity!
@ that would be cool! I’ll post on IG if I end up going to the NY show!
Question about PHEVs: Let’s say your daily commute is 15 miles one way. You manage to do that commute almost entirely on EV every day. At the end of the year, you have circa 8,000 miles on the car, but the engine was in use for only 2,000 of those 8,000 miles. Does the system of the PHEV indicate the difference between miles traveled by EV mode and miles traveled by ICE?
I don’t know specifically if it differentiates between gas and EV but it will keep an actual MPG so if most of your driving is on EV and the gas engine comes on really sparingly then it wouldn’t be unrealistic to see 70-80 REAL mpg. BMWs fuel economy readings only go as high as 99.5 but in theory (and likely execution) you could beat even that
yes you will see how much you drive using electric and using gas, thru the apps
@@joelespanol1347
Thanks!
It will show you on the BMW app and you also get a monthly report from BMW on your driving for that month. Never had that happen before. It differentiates between gas miles and electric miles and tells you how much of each you drove, it'll tell you the MPGe you've driving that month (and since you owned the car, btw), and it will ALSO tell you if you've lagged or beaten the average driving stats of other BMW 50e drivers. Pretty cool.
Have they resolved the hybrid battery cooling issue?
An x5 has no cons. Only pros. Theres a reason it’s the benchmark because of zero compromise
told you, you'd like today's video
Of course you did 😂
Depends what you value. As enthusiasts, which I would guess most of us are, the X5 is a little too much like an NPC vehicle from the wealthier areas of the GTA map.
@@CIRCLEDARKlol hilarious
Does the car always start in electric mode or can you “save” the battery for the acceleration on a long drive
Great review! Im deciding between M60 and 50e. Just curious how you think the real world acceleration events compare between the two?
Great review...I agree with everything you say. I just wish they offered it in the X6.
It does seem odd they dont offer it in the X6
I think I have the answer to this from your video, but wanted to double-check: do you think the 50e is even faster than the already fast X40i with the electric aiding it? Car and Driver's numbers seem to indicate so, but wanted to get your opinion.
@@isuckatsurfing it is quicker yep!
so matt last year you updated the banner of worst/best things and things you should know about each car, can you explain why.
@@UrLocal_Jude they’re somewhat different videos - the worst and best videos are relative to other vehicles it competes against. The “X things you should know” videos are more JUST about the car in front of me and doesn’t really talk about how it relates to the competition
happy halloween matt, have you gone trick or treating?
I have 3 friends who are mechanics. None of them know each other. They have all told me independently BMWs are still to lease and not to own and at 50K miles they slowly become a POS. I drive a 2016 Lexus GX with 135K miles and would love a new SUV that hauls the family, is fun to drive, but also something reliable. My mechanic friend told me last week “that X5 would not be running at 135k miles”. That said, have seen a lot of reviews that say BMW has been making the x5 forever and its super reliable. What gives? Anyone with experience? For what it’s worth, I have test driven an x5 and they do drive fantastic.
Dang you have 3 mechanic friends and you haven’t introduced them to each other? Seems like they’d be friends, no?
@ I could have worded that better. I will have them all over for cheese and crackers soon. Anyway, what about it? Are these guys just haters or do BMW’s turn into POSs around 50K miles? My GX is about as fun to drive as a dump truck but she just goes and gives me no troubles.
The X5 seems to be the most reliable BMW. Is it a Lexus? No. But, maintain it and drive it for 100K miles and sell it. Should do just fine...but, repairs are expensive, that's a fact.
I just traded in my 440i this past week with 88k on it. It was a fantastic car and still drove like new. Did stuff pop up, of course. However, I had no more issues than I had with any previous vehicles I have had including Hondas and Toyotas. The interior held up better than any car I have ever owned, and there were two little ones riding in the back. I pick up my X5 50e this week.
I've owned my first BMW (50e) for 2 months now so take this with a huge grain of salt, but I researched the hell out of BMW before buying and also after (compulsive a bit) and what I think happens is like what this content creator did - he stomped it right out of the gate before it was sufficiently broken in which is AGAINST VERY CLEAR BMW STANDARD RECOMMENDATIONS. Bimmerpost is a forum of BMW fanatics and lifers and is truly awesome. It's like getting a bachelor's in BMW as they cover e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. What I've seen is most of them know what they're doing but there are more than a handful who pffft the break-in period and just hammer the car from the start. Well, I think if you abuse the engine out of the gate you're just setting yourself up for a bad experience down the line. You know what my research tells me? I will NEVER buy a used BMW because I won't take the chance someone didn't beat the hell out of the car prior to selling it. However, I bought a new BMW based on performance, reliability (Consumer Reports rates them 2nd to Toyota, believe it or not), and driving experience. I honestly had my doubts about BMW's reliability like everyone else but I'm driving this like a baby during break-in and I expect it to last well over 100k at which point I'll likely trade it in and find my next vehicle. I expect it to be reliable and be a great purchase when all is said and done. I guess we'll see.
u didnt touch on the ride asepct of the air suspension
pls do things you should know on cars next saturday-sunday
@@UrLocal_Jude my upload schedule is tuesdays and thursdays - or are you asking to see more on this X5 PHEV?
@@dwnshft no
how's X5 50e compare to the new Range Rover Sport PHEV?
Ill let ya know in March when we get a rover to test for a week👊
Surprised 4.5sec 0-60… seems kind of slow for over 450/500 hp/torque.
Coming from an X3 with a 4 cylinder 30i which X5 would you recommend? I want the air suspension with the m sport package!
50e
Unfortunately, it looks like the X5 PHEV’s towing capacity is only 5,952, versus the 6,603 of the xDrive40i.
Edit: according to Car and Driver.
Interesting, thanks for the clarification! Still pretty solid capacity!
According to my dealer and Info I’ve found, it’s exactly the same
It’s due to the extra weight of the plugin hybrid battery. I have the 2025 50e. It’s a fantastic car. Handling, power, driving automations. I drive it mostly in ev mode with 2-3 long trips per month. Love the towing features. Love driving this car.
@@johnpeters2298 That makes total sense. I hadn’t thought of that. I love that X5. It won’t fit in our current garage so I got a XC60 T8 instead, which we are seeing about 40 miles of electric range…but, it only has a 3,500 pound towing capacity. Time to build a new garage.
right away the comparisions start
that should have been done at the end not in every aspect
we want a review of X5 EV
not a X5 vs GLE
@@waseemparkarx is the info not relevant in context to its chief rival?
@dwnshft yes it's relevant. However if the video is X5 vs GLE, go ahead and compare at every feature
If the video is BMW X5, review the car. Then you can say ...compared to it's chief rival, abcdef.....
@ sorry mate that’s just the format for our pro & con video format. We do another format it sounds like you’d like better - “X things you should know” which is more about the car in a vacuum and much less comparison to other cars
im getting 85km per full charge
Nahhhh.. The Acura MDX is way better !!
'oh hello weird Buick guy'... while wearing a pair of clown glasses and a wannabe thug cap. Buick guy says 'look in the mirror bro' 🤣
Looks like something released in early 2000s
Get a byd, cheaper and better